Cannon's Campground community testing groundwater

Published: Friday, April 19, 2013 at 8:05 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, April 19, 2013 at 8:05 p.m.

Not satisfied with assurances from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control that residual groundwater contamination from a former polyester fiber plant in Spartanburg poses no risk to public health, residents in the Cannon's Campground community are taking matters into their own hands.

Columbia attorney Bert Louthian said four new wells recently were drilled on a client's property near the former Hoechst Celanese manufacturing plant. The wells are to the south of Interstate 85 and a nearby creek and to the east of Bruckner Road. Samples taken from the wells will be sent off for independent testing.

Louthian, of the Louthian Law Firm, and another Columbia attorney, Graham Newman of the Harpootlian Law Firm, are representing more than 100 clients and residents of the Cannon's Campground community. Many families in the community blame dumping around the plant site for dozens of cancer cases in the decades since the practice began in the mid-1960s.

DHEC has been overseeing assessment and cleanup by Hoechst Celanese at the site since the late 1980s, according to DHEC's website.

The state agency's site reads that "Although some studies on stream sediments and aquatic life are ongoing, DHEC has concluded these water bodies are safe based on the data collected to date."

In response to residents' independent testing in the area, SCDHEC spokesman Jim Beasley said the department stands behind its findings.

"We remain confident in our analysis of data uncovered during our study of the Cannon's Campground community and surrounding area," Beasley said. "We presented our findings during a community meeting a few months ago to help answer residents' concerns. If the residents obtain sampling results that differ from our tests, we hope they will share and discuss those results with us."

Louthian said residents want to know exactly how far the contamination has drifted away from the plant. That concern prompted action to drill the four new wells. The tests will reveal whether chemicals are present on property to the south side of a creek and tributary of the Pacolet River located across I-85 and to the south of the plant.

DHEC recently posted results from samples taken from two wells drilled in January near Bruckner Road and near the site where residents authorized drilling this past week. While one well tested negative for contaminants, the other showed a small quantity of chloroform. Beasley said the readings are below the Environmental Protection Agency's maximum contaminant level for drinking water.

"These findings are not surprising, since we know there is a plume across the creek from the wells," Beasley said. "... We have known about the existence of the chloroform plume, and it does not appear to be advancing beyond the creek. These results remain consistent with our knowledge of the chloroform plume."

Lisa Nielsen, a former resident of Cannon's Campground who now lives in Greenville, said she firmly believes in a direct correlation between contamination from the plant and the illnesses plaguing many households. She said decades-long exposure to even trace amounts of chemicals is a serious concern for residents living in the area.

"Based on years and years of this kind of contamination, who knows what we ingested and what flowed through our creeks years ago," said Nielsen, whose parents still live at Cannon's Campground. "We have known, and my community has known, for years that something is wrong with our water. With the law firms of Harpootlian and Louthian, it's going to be a long, intensive investigation so that when we do finally process this and hopefully have a case, we can go in without a shadow of a doubt, to at least give us some peace of mind."

<p>Not satisfied with assurances from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control that residual groundwater contamination from a former polyester fiber plant in Spartanburg poses no risk to public health, residents in the Cannon's Campground community are taking matters into their own hands. </p><p>Columbia attorney Bert Louthian said four new wells recently were drilled on a client's property near the former Hoechst Celanese manufacturing plant. The wells are to the south of Interstate 85 and a nearby creek and to the east of Bruckner Road. Samples taken from the wells will be sent off for independent testing.</p><p>"This is part of our ongoing investigation," Louthian said. "We're hoping to find pollutants if they're there."</p><p>Louthian, of the Louthian Law Firm, and another Columbia attorney, Graham Newman of the Harpootlian Law Firm, are representing more than 100 clients and residents of the Cannon's Campground community. Many families in the community blame dumping around the plant site for dozens of cancer cases in the decades since the practice began in the mid-1960s.</p><p>DHEC has been overseeing assessment and cleanup by Hoechst Celanese at the site since the late 1980s, according to DHEC's website. </p><p>The state agency's site reads that "Although some studies on stream sediments and aquatic life are ongoing, DHEC has concluded these water bodies are safe based on the data collected to date."</p><p>In response to residents' independent testing in the area, SCDHEC spokesman Jim Beasley said the department stands behind its findings.</p><p>"We remain confident in our analysis of data uncovered during our study of the Cannon's Campground community and surrounding area," Beasley said. "We presented our findings during a community meeting a few months ago to help answer residents' concerns. If the residents obtain sampling results that differ from our tests, we hope they will share and discuss those results with us."</p><p>Louthian said residents want to know exactly how far the contamination has drifted away from the plant. That concern prompted action to drill the four new wells. The tests will reveal whether chemicals are present on property to the south side of a creek and tributary of the Pacolet River located across I-85 and to the south of the plant.</p><p>DHEC recently posted results from samples taken from two wells drilled in January near Bruckner Road and near the site where residents authorized drilling this past week. While one well tested negative for contaminants, the other showed a small quantity of chloroform. Beasley said the readings are below the Environmental Protection Agency's maximum contaminant level for drinking water.</p><p>"These findings are not surprising, since we know there is a plume across the creek from the wells," Beasley said. "... We have known about the existence of the chloroform plume, and it does not appear to be advancing beyond the creek. These results remain consistent with our knowledge of the chloroform plume."</p><p>Lisa Nielsen, a former resident of Cannon's Campground who now lives in Greenville, said she firmly believes in a direct correlation between contamination from the plant and the illnesses plaguing many households. She said decades-long exposure to even trace amounts of chemicals is a serious concern for residents living in the area.</p><p>"Based on years and years of this kind of contamination, who knows what we ingested and what flowed through our creeks years ago," said Nielsen, whose parents still live at Cannon's Campground. "We have known, and my community has known, for years that something is wrong with our water. With the law firms of Harpootlian and Louthian, it's going to be a long, intensive investigation so that when we do finally process this and hopefully have a case, we can go in without a shadow of a doubt, to at least give us some peace of mind."</p>